World Social Work Day Event in Japan
To celebrate World Social Work Day, the Japanese Federation of Social Workers (JFSW) held a special event on March 2 at Japan Women’s University.
With approximately 70 participants joining both on site and online, the event brought together social workers, researchers, students, and other stakeholders to discuss the topic of “Japan’s Changing Society and Its Readiness for Immigration.”
Japan is now home to over 3.5 million immigrants, marking an increase of more than 10% from the previous year. As government policies evolve and labor shortages become more serious due to population decrease, immigrants are playing an increasingly vital role in Japanese society — often in ways that go unnoticed by the general public.
This shift in Japan’s social structure requires urgent attention and social workers need to embrace it. Understanding the working conditions and daily lives of immigrants is crucial to providing effective social work support at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Addressing the challenges of immigration in Japan is a complex but pressing issue.
The event successfully facilitated dialogue and strengthened solidarity among social workers and related professionals from various backgrounds. This shared commitment must extend beyond Japan, encouraging social workers to tackle this issue with a truly global perspective.
